MCA Notifies Amendment To Companies(Significant Beneficial Ownership) Rules [Read Rules]

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs yesterday notified Companies Amendment Rules 2019, to amend the Significant Beneficial Ownership Rules 2018 notified last June.The Rules aim to look-through corporate layers to reveal individual shareholders that ultimately derive economic benefits from and/or control a corporate entity in India.The amendment introduces. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs yesterday notified Companies Amendment Rules 2019, to amend the Significant Beneficial Ownership Rules 2018 notified last June. The amendment introduces Rule 2 which seeks to substitute the present definition of 'significant beneficial owner' as : "significant beneficial owner, in relation to a reporting company means an individual referred to in sub-section of section 90, who acting alone or together, or through one or more persons or trust, possesses one or more of the following rights or entitlements in such reporting company, namely: holds indirectly, or together with any direct holdings, not less than ten per cent. As per new Rule 2, "significant influence" is defined as the power to participate, directly or indirectly, in the financial and operating policy decisions of the reporting company but is not control or joint control of those policies' The new Rule 2A states that every reporting company shall take necessary steps to find out if there is any individual who is a significant beneficial owner as defined in the Rules, and make such individuals to file declaration.